3 minute read
Trainer and jockey quotes after the Vale Verry Elleegant at Caulfield on Saturday taken out by Dunkel.
Race Result:
1st: Dunkel (B Egan/P Payne) - $3.30
2nd: Mankayan (J Allen/C Maher) - $6.50
3rd: Gear Up (J Mott/A Neasham) - $26
Winning Time: 2:05.26 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: 3/4 lengths x 1/2 length
G1 winner Dunkel makes it two wins in a row & takes out the Vale Verry Elleegant pic.twitter.com/UkarhvMuSl
— Racing.com (@Racing) February 24, 2024
Winning Trainer: Patrick Payne (stable representatives Neil Greaves & Brendan Danaher speaking)
Neil Greaves:
Improvement to come: "He's just a good horse. We were thinking that this run would improve him for future, I think he's heading to the Pakenham Cup, I think that's well known, Patrick's probably said that on radio."
On the win: "He jumped really well and when he settled second outside the lead, geez he was always going to be hard to beat, he's just got these sort of winning ways, he's just a really, really nice horse and a great bunch of owners. Especially Brendan Danaher and his team have been with him since he started and this would be a great thrill for them."
Brendan Danaher:
Ownership group: "It's been a hell of a ride with him, he's just a fantastic horse, every time he goes out I think he just wants to win, you can see by his record. We've mainly just got family in the horse, family and friends so it's just been the best ride of all time."
Melbourne Cup dream: "Patrick's mentioned the Pakenham Cup we're going to, and then the next race will be the Roy Higgins at Flemington which automatically gets you into the Melbourne Cup, if we can get him there we might not be able to control it."
Winning Jockey: Billy Egan
On the ride: "It's pretty easy when it's a small field and he can land outside the leader like that, it's a bit tricky when you get back but it worked out in his favour."
Keeps winning: "I actually think it probably wasn't as dominant as he was at Moonee Valley that day, I think just the gap between runs would just be that reason but after this run I think he'll be really peaking now."
Further: "Certainly looking for it, he relaxed beautifully during the run, he was still very good through the line. He's just got naturally a good set of lungs on him."
